Study of the Efficacy and Safety of Aliskiren HCTZ vs Ramipril in Obese Patients (BMI ≥ 30) With Stage 2 Hypertension

Exclusion Criteria

• •Office blood pressure measured by cuff (MSDBP ≥ 110 mmHg and/or MSSBP ≥ 200 mmHg) at any visit.
• •Use of other investigational drugs within 30 days of enrollment, or 5 half-lives, which ever is longer.
• •Use of aliskiren and/or a fixed dose combination of aliskiren HCTZ or participation in a clinical trial that had aliskiren and/or aliskiren HCTZ as treatment within 30 days of Visit 1.
• •History of hypersensitivity to any of the study drugs or to drugs belonging to the same therapeutic class (ACE inhibitors or renin inhibitors) as the study drugs.
• •History or evidence of a secondary form of hypertension.
• •Refractory hypertension, defined as, unresponsive to triple drug therapy at the maximum dose of each drug, one of which must be a diuretic, and not at blood pressure goal (140/90 mmHg). Therapy with a fixed dose combination of two active substances represent two drugs.
• •Patients on 4 or more antihypertensive medications.
• •Long QT syndrome or QTc \> 450 msec for males and \> 470 msec for females at screening.